Postgraduate Courses

St Vincent’s Hospital (SVH) offers a range of postgraduate specialty nurse opportunities that are recognized and respected worldwide.

SVH has a long history of innovation in nurse education and was one of the first institutions in New South Wales to offer post registration nurse education in specialty areas with the establishment of the Cardiothoracic (1963), Operating Room (1965), Intensive Care (1966) and Medical-Surgical (2002) nursing programs.

The curriculum of the program has changed with the times to keep up with the dynamic technology and techniques in health care.  SVH has responded to changes in nurse education and the professionalism within nursing by working with universities to develop curricula for the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice, and more recently the Master in Health Science.

SVH continues its commitment to maintaining nursing programs, which pursue high standards of patient care, have a strong clinical focus and ensure theory and practice are integrated.

Currently SVH offers a range of postgraduate specialty nursing education options/opportunities to nurses wanting to specialize in perioperative or intensive care nursing.  These can be undertaken concurrently or sequentially and articulate with university programs.

• Specialist Clinical Nursing Program [read more]
• Specialty Practice Nursing Units  [read more]
• Scholarships  [read more]

 

Specialist Clinical Nursing Programs

Structured clinical programs are offered in the specialties of Intensive Care and Perioperative Nursing and are conducted over one (1) year.

These programs are designed to be undertaken in conjunction with a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice or equivalent at a university, however they can also be undertaken prior to or post completing tertiary studies. The clinical program offers:

• Structured clinical rotations
• Clinical study days
• Clinical assessment, including clinically focused learning packages
• Clinical Leadership/Management experience
• Education and clinical support

Structured Clinical Rotations
Intensive Care Nursing Clinical Program students will gain clinical experience in the
following areas: General Intensive Care Unit; Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit;
Emergency Department; Anaesthetics; Intensive Care Ambulance.

Perioperative Students will gain clinical experience in the roles of anaesthetics, circulating, instrument and recovery room nursing.  Surgical specialties include: Cardiac, ENT, General, Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology, Plastics, Thoracic, Trauma, Urology, Vascular and Gynaecology & Obstetrics (at The Royal Hospital for Women).

Programs may include rotations to relevant areas of other hospitals to meet specific clinical requirements.

Clinical Study Days
80 hours have been allocated as Study Days for clinically focused learning.  Content of these Study Days is designed to compliment the theoretical content of tertiary programs.  Teaching and Learning strategies may include lectures and tutorials, clinical visits, literature appraisal, discussions, assessments, self-directed learning opportunities and presentations.

Clinical Assessments
Student progress throughout the Specialist Clinical Program will be assessed on an individual basis utilising a variety of assessment methods and tools.  Assessments will include specialty clinical competencies; standardised learning contracts for clinical rotations, clinical incident analyses, professional performance reviews and a policy development project.

Clinical Leadership / Management
Following consultation with Nurse Managers, experience may be gained in leadership within the Perioperative/Intensive Care environment.  During this rotation, which is facilitated with the Nurse Unit Managers, students are supernumerary.

Education and Clinical Support
Emphasis is placed on adult learning principles, which encourage individuals to take responsibility for personal and professional development.  All clinical areas have Clinical Nurse Educators to provide guidance and support.  The Nurse Educator’s responsibility lies in teaching participants effective learning strategies such as independent and/or self-directed learning.  This type of learning contributes to personal and professional growth, promotes life long learning and enables the individual to pursue excellence in patient care.

A Certificate of Clinical Competence is awarded on successful completion of the Specialist Clinical Program.

The Clinical Program also attracts one (1) unit of credit towards the Masters of Health Science at ACU National.

Student Selection
The selection of St Vincent’s Specialty Clinical Nursing Program students is based on academic and employment suitability.

To be eligible for the Clinical Programs, Registered Nurses must have a minimum of 12 months’ post registration medical/surgical nursing experience and a minimum of 3 months’ experience in the chosen specialty by the course commencement date.
Applicants must have completed tertiary clinical nursing studies in the last 7 years, prior to the course commencement date.
Applicants are required to be employed by St Vincent’s Hospital and have a positive appraisal from their current/previous employer. As positions are limited nurses are encouraged to seek full time employment prior to applying to undertake the Specialty Nursing Clinical Program.

Employment is offered on a full time basis and rotating rosters will apply.
Employment conditions are in accordance with the NSW Nurses (State) Award.

Commencement Date
The Clinical Nursing Programs commence in late January/ early February, and will complete late January/ early February the following year.

Applications
SVH Closing Date: Early November of each year.

Applicants are required to complete an Application form and submit this with a CV and covering letter.

Enquiries regarding the application process for the Specialty (Intensive Care and Perioperative) Clinical Nursing Program conducted by SVH are available from:
Manager Nurse Education Phone (02) 8382 2322

Inquiries for specific specialty areas:
Intensive Care Nurse Educator Phone (02) 8382 2609
Perioperative Nurse Educator Phone (02) 8382 2653  

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Specialty Practice Units

St Vincent’s Hospital offers 2 Specialty Practice Units in each of the specialties of Anaesthetic/Recovery Nursing, Intensive Care Nursing and Perioperative Nursing. 

Specialty Practice 1:  This unit aims to prepare students to provide holistic care in specialty practice.  Students will examine and apply knowledge and skills for safe, competent person and family centred care relevant the chosen specialty.  The unit focuses on enabling students to perform a comprehensive health assessment and prioritise, implement and evaluate appropriate nursing care.

Specialty Practice 2: This unit builds on and extends the knowledge and understanding acquired in Specialty Practice 1 unit.  The aim is to prepare students to provide holistic care in specialty practice.  The focus of the unit is on enhancing skills to work within the collaborative team and on planning care for people experiencing complex health problems.  The student’s ability to articulate the evidence base for clinical decisions will be facilitated. (Note: Specialty Practice 1 is a pre-requisite for Specialty Practice 2).

Both of these units are offered in face to face mode at St Vincent’s Hospital.  Lectures are delivered by clinicians from the hospital including Doctors, Nurses and other multidisciplinary health care workers.  The Specialty Practice Units include both theoretical and clinical assessments.

Anaesthetic & Recovery Lectures are conducted over 4 ½  study days per semester.
The Intensive Care Units are run over a 12 weeks with lectures for 3 hours per week each Wednesday evening.
Perioperative units are run over a 12 weeks with lectures for 3 hours per week each Tuesday evening.

These specialty practice units attract credit for 2 units with the ACU Masters of Health Science Clinical Stream.  Students may complete Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice offered by ACU National by undertaking 2 remaining online theory units.

The aim of the Graduate Certificate is to prepare graduate nurses who have the knowledge and experience to work as beginning Specialist Nurses in their chosen clinical specialty.  Successful completion of the Graduate Certificate allows students to continue further study at Masters level.

Student Selection
To be eligible for the Specialty Practice units, Registered Nurses must have completed a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in nursing or equivalent qualification, be eligible for registration as a nurse in the relevant Australian state/territory, have obtained at least twelve months experience in a recognised health care facility and have access to a relevant nursing practice area.

Applicants who do not meet normal entry requirements for the Master of Health Science may seek approval for entry on an individual basis through consultation with relevant Specialty Nurse Educators (contact details follow).

Commencement Date
The Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice Courses (Anaesthetics & Recovery, Intensive Care Nursing and Perioperative Nursing) are offered on a part-time basis by both St Vincent’s Hospital and ACU National.

Specialty Practice units are conducted in line with the ACU Academic year.
Semester 1 commences in early February and runs over a 12 week semester with one week semester break after Easter each year.
Semester 2 commences late July/early August over 12 weeks with semester break late September each year.

Cost
The Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice is a fee-paying course.   Fees for the Specialty Practice units undertaken at SVH are $900 per unit
Fees may be eligible for tax deduction.
Details of fees for ACU National online units are available from ACU National.

Applications
Application for enrolment to the Specialty Practice Units closes in January each year. Applicants are required to complete an Application form:
Semester 1 Application form
Semester 2 Application form
 and submit this to Nurse Education and Development Centre.

Inquiries regarding the application process for the Specialty Practice Units conducted by SVH are available from:
Manager Nurse Education Phone (02) 8382 2322

Inquiries for specific specialty areas:
Intensive Care Nurse Educator Phone (02) 8382 2609
Perioperative Nurse Educator Phone (02) 8382 2653

Inquiries regarding the application process for the remaining online units of the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice are available from the ACU National website.

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Scholarships

To financially assist students, St Vincent's Hospital Division of Nursing offers a defined number of scholarships in an endeavor to support RNs to undertake tertiary based Post Graduate study that relate to clinical specialties at St Vincent’s Hospital.

The application process includes the submission of:

• A completed Scholarship Application Form
• A covering letter outlining the specialty nursing course being undertaken.
• Evidence of application or enrolment in a University Program.
• A completed Statement of Support by NM/NUM
• A Curriculum Vitae

Scholarship Guidelines are available to further assist you in this process.

Further information
Scholarships are also available through various other organisations,  such as:
NSW Department of Health,
NSW Nurses Association
Nurses’ and Midwifery Board.